Cambridge Coincidences Collection

As of the 23rd May 2022 this website is archived and will receive no further updates.

understandinguncertainty.org was produced by the Winton programme for the public understanding of risk based in the Statistical Laboratory in the University of Cambridge. The aim was to help improve the way that uncertainty and risk are discussed in society, and show how probability and statistics can be both useful and entertaining.

Many of the animations were produced using Flash and will no longer work.

Well I Never!

Professor David Spiegelhalter of Cambridge University wants to know about your coincidences!

3 siblings same birrhday

Here's one for you Professor; My brother was born to my biological mother and father on November 24th. We have two step sisters, 1 born to my biological mother and my step father and one born to my biological father and his wife on, you guessed it - November 24th! We always wonder what the chances if that is!

Birth dates

Hi, in our family out of 6 children 3 were born on the 9th of the month. My sister in law and my cousin had 2 sons on the same day (9th january). I have one child born on the 9th (February) one on the 8th (November) both came late, I am now expecting my third. It's due on the 2nd of July, what's the chances of it being born on the 7th to fall in line with the others?

Two siblings, same chance encounter

A little while ago I went to Amsterdam to visit my boyfriend. While there, we decided to rent some bikes and go cycle outside the city. On our way to the lake we were headed, my boyfriend got a flat tyre, so we started to walk in a little village on the hunt for a bike shop. It was while we were walking that we chanced upon a film set, where they were shooting a cough commercial. While my boyfriend was busy sorting out his bike issues, I approached one guy on set and started asking questions about the shoot. I mentioned that my brother was trying to get into the film industry, and asked about his experiences. He told me that he was going to be moving to London soon, so I gave him my brother's details. Cue a month later, my brother was cycling to work in London when he chanced upon a film set. Eager to make contacts and find work, he decided to approach the team and start asking what they were filming. He then said he was trying to get into the industry and wanted to leave his details in case they needed someone. And when he said his name.... the guy he was talking to realised that he was the brother I had mentioned in our chance encounter not 4 weeks ago in Amsterdam!

3 Brothers, one birthday

Simply stated, my 2 brothers - who are twins - were born on my 2nd birthday. I suppose that at most there is a one in 365 chance of this happening, but it still amazes people.

African connection

I worked for a few years in a small village in Nottinghamshire. A new secretary came to work for us and we got talking. She had grown up in Africa but had family in the UK. It transpired that her mother in law was in a nursing home 150 miles away in the North East, which was across the road from my girlfriend's brother's pub.

Hotel coincidence

As a child my family went to live in Africa in connection with my father's job. When we arrived the company put us up in temporary accommodation in a hotel on the sea front. A few weeks later in conversation with my father's brother we realised that this was the same hotel he had been billeted in during the war, 30 years earler.

Birth relationship

Hi there, I was born (ilegitimate) in 1948. My natural mother was Elsie Wigley, and my father Eric Morris. I was at the time named Raymond Peter Wigley, but then adopted by Charlse and Mary Green who gave me the name of Peter Michael Green. And so I remained for many years. Many years later I traced my natural mother who had by then married a Bob Wolstenholme. Not my natural father, Following svereal relationships I met and settled with a Gracia Day (her married name). She was divorced and wanted to change her surname, but obviously didn't want to take on mine. (Gracia Green -err, I think not!) She didn't want to revert to her maiden name (Robinson) as she had had a disfunctional family. So she chose to take on her mothers maiden name of Travis and that this would apply to her 3 children. We were at that point a settled relationship, and as I had no great attatchement to the name Green, I decided that for practical reasons we'd cement the family idea, and in 1996 I also changed my surname to Travis. About a couple of years later I was talking to Elsie, my natural mother and told her of the change, not thinking that it would be of much interest to her.

Diverted line

Our company has the ability to divert its telephone line to an answering service if we're busy or travelling and are unable to take calls. We are in advertising. One day I entered the number of the answering service to divert our calls but entered it wrongly and a little later in the day we discovered that the entered wrong number was a direct competitor of ours in advertising.

Pin numbers

Within 3 days of each other, two separate and competitive banks each sent me a pin number in the mail for my new bank card with them. One pin was 1797 and the other pin was 1798.

Rings a bell?...... Phone Calls

In the town where I live, I have two friends one with a telephone number 896535 and the other 893535. I had to contact them about two separate issues on the same evening. Later that evening, I had to contact a woman I'd never rung before about an article she'd submitted for a newsletter I compile. I looked her phone number up and what should it be but 897535!

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